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Again, obvious title is obvious.
It's a bit like playing Mowgly, if Mowgly was able to talk to animals and send them destroy, burn and pillage the human village he doesn't like, while assuming the shape of a tigerbear. (Spoiler = he totally did it in the original, non-Disney version, except the tigerbear part.)
Also, don't you feel bad now striking owlbears ? These are only druids with some kind of permanency spell on them who turned mad. Now we know were they come from.
Hope you'll like it !
Master of Many Shapes
Some druids, either by a powerful bestial instinct or a lack of affinity with the more mystical aspects of nature's mysteries, focus on the ability to change shape. These druids usually hide in the wildest places of nature, sometimes living among other creatures acknowledging them as one of them even when they don't assume their bestial shape ; but some of them sometimes live closer to the cities, curious as they feel that their true home may a long time ago have been among their own kind. These masters of many shapes are able to assume any form when needed, gaining an uncanny stealth and versatility against obstacles at the cost of reduced spellcasting abilities, and a greater natural vulnerability to some ailments of the wild life.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Masters of many shapes are proficient only with the club, dagger, dart, shortspear, sling, and spear. They are also proficient with all natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) of any form they assume when shapeshifting (see below). Masters of many shapes are only proficient with light armors ; they still are prohibited to wear metal armors.
Diminished Spellcasting
A master of many shapes may cast one spell less per level and per day. If this puts a number of spells per day to 0, a master of many shapes may only cast a spell of this level if he possesses a high enough Wisdom modifier to get bonus spells of this level.
This ability also replaces orisons, but the master of many shapes may prepare Read Magic and Detect Magic as 1st level spells.
Spontaneous Casting
A druid can channel stored spell energy into shapeshifting spells that she hasn’t prepared ahead of time. She can “lose” a prepared spell in order to cast any spell of the same level or lower through the following list :
- A level 1 spell or more can be used to cast Animal Aspect,
- A level 2 spell or more can be used to cast Greater Animal Aspect,
- A level 3 to 8 spell or more can be used to cast any spell including the words "Shape", "Form", "Physique", "Elemental Body" or "Undead Anatomy" of same level or lower from the wizard/sorcerer spell list,
- Finally, a level 9 spell can be used to cast Shapechange.
Nature Bond (Ex)
A master of many shapes druid must choose a domain as his nature bond. This domain doesn't provides the druid with any domain spell slot, instead adding the indicated domain spells to her druid spell list.
Shapeshifter (Su)
Beginning at 1st level, a druid gains the ability to turn herself into any small or medium humanoid or animal and back again once per day. This ability functions like the alter self or the beast shape I spell, in which case her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type ; except for the following noted here. The effect lasts for 1 hour per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to humanoid/animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The form chosen must be that of an humanoid or an animal the druid is familiar with.
A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)
A druid can use this ability an additional time per day at 4th level and every two levels thereafter, for a total of ten times at 18th level. At 20th level, a druid can use shapeshifter at will. As a druid gains in levels, this ability allows her to take on the form of larger and smaller animals, humanoids, elementals, plants, undeads, magical creatures, etc. Each form expends one daily usage of this ability, regardless of the form taken.
At 6th level, a master of many shapes can use shapeshifter to reproduce the effects of a 4th level spell including the words "Shape", "Form", "Physique", "Elemental Body" or "Undead Anatomy" from the wizard/sorcerer spell list.
Each two levels later (8, 10, 12, 14, 16), a master of many shape can use his shapeshifter ability to reproduce the effects of a spell one level higher including the words "Shape", "Form", "Physique", "Elemental Body" or "Undead Anatomy" from the wizard/sorcerer spell list.
Like the ability gained at first level, the effect of all these spells lasts for 1 hour per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to the appropriate creature or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The form chosen must be that of a creature the druid is familiar with.
This ability replaces Wild Shape.
A Thousand Face (Su)
At 9th level, a master of many shapes gains the druid's A Thousand Face ability.
This ability replaces venom immunity.
Dual Shapeshifter
At 13th level, a druid may be affected by the effects of two polymorph spells at once. This allows a druid to take on a hybrid form of two different creatures with two consecutive uses of her wild shape, by casting a polymorph spell before using her wild shape, or by casting two polymorph spells.
This ability replaces the druid's ability a thousand face.
What does Shapeshifting give up? Because I don't think one less spell per level per day makes up for that, and they get the same number of spells per day as a druid who has an animal companion.
Also, owlbears come from drunk wizards.
Everything is due to drunk wizards.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Again, obvious title is obvious.
It's a bit like playing Mowgly, if Mowgly was able to talk to animals and send them destroy, burn and pillage the human village he doesn't like, while assuming the shape of a tigerbear. (Spoiler = he totally did it in the original, non-Disney version, except the tigerbear part.)Also, don't you feel bad now striking owlbears ? These are only druids with some kind of permanency spell on them who turned mad. Now we know were they come from.
Hope you'll like it !
** spoiler omitted **...
Two suggestions:
- Lose Nature Bond altogether, you're already adding a bunch of spells to the druid's spell list, he shouldn't need domain spells.
-You're definitely going to have to give some detail on the Dual Shapeshifter ability, since I'm sure there will be times when two spells conflict. You should also specify that if the spells both give a bonus to an ability score, then only the higher one should count.
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- Lose Nature Bond altogether, you're already adding a bunch of spells to the druid's spell list, he shouldn't need domain spells.
Not too sure about this, originally the Master of Many Shapes had to choose the Animal cleric domain, and I think it would remove a bit too much from versatility... even if the class is based around the idea that pretty much no MoMS will be the same.
As written now, they just get additional options, but still suffer from an horribly nerfed spellcasting that they will need to gimp even more if they want to hold their own in melee/ranged combat. And if they want to keep these goodies, they will need to spend money to at least have enough Wisdom to cast mid-to-high-level spells.-You're definitely going to have to give some detail on the Dual Shapeshifter ability, since I'm sure there will be times when two spells conflict. You should also specify that if the spells both give a bonus to an ability score, then only the higher one should count.
I'm assuming that the people who read this already know about the rule that says "similar bonuses don't stack", and all ability bonuses from the given spells are size bonuses. I can see the problem when someone will try to assume the shape of differently sized creatures though.
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Clarification of the Dual Shapeshifter ability.
Dual Shapeshifter
At 13th level, a druid may be affected by the effects of two polymorph spells at once. This allows a druid to take on a hybrid form of two different creatures with two consecutive uses of her wild shape, by casting a polymorph spell before using her wild shape, or by casting two polymorph spells.
Size bonuses and natural armor bonuses provided by two polymorph effects don't stack. When you assume the shape of two creatures of same size, or two creatures both smaller or bigger than your base shape, only the highest bonuses and penalties are applied.
If you attempt to assume the form of two totally different creature sizes, like by assuming both the shape of a Large and a Tiny creature, you add together the size bonuses and penalties. To know your final size, consider your base size as 0, and add the size modifiers of both shapes (equal to base size : 0, one step smaller : -1, two steps smaller : -2, one step bigger : +1, two steps bigger : +2, etc.). Your final size is equal to this final modifier ; for instance, a medium-sized level 14 master of many shapes assuming the shape of both a Huge (+2) dragon through Form of the Dragon III and a Small (-1) mandragora through Plant Shape I would have a modifier of +1, and become a Large creature.
The shapeshifted druid cannot use more natural attacks per round than the higher amount provided by one of the shapes ; but he may replace some of these natural attacks by those provided by his other shape. Any modified attack is still treated as a primary or secondary natural weapons according to the shape giving the most natural attacks per round, even if traded with a natural attack that is treated otherwise by the secondary shape.
This ability replaces the druid's ability a thousand face.